In May 2017, Pagefield won the Gold SABRE Award (Superior Achievement in Branding, Reputation and Engagement) in the category Consumer Marketing New Product for "Launching IQOS and Helping the Tobacco Giant Quit Smoking”.[3]

Reflecting on his work for PMI, Pagefield’s CEO, Oliver Foster, wrote:

“Working for a tobacco company is always a contentious decision for agencies like ours, especially when the role involves reputation management. Too many consultancies – if they take on that work – are only too happy to conceal the work they are doing. We did the opposite from day one of our three year partnership with Philip Morris’s Reduced Risk business. Up on our website went the Philip Morris logo. Three years later and as recently as last night, we won an international PR industry award for our work launching the groundbreaking IQOS – a reduced risk, heat-not-burn product which is 95% less harmful than standard cigarettes”.[2]

Fosters’ claim that IQOS is 95% less harmful than cigarettes is not supported by independent evidence.[4][5]

“Lessons” from IQOS Campaign

Foster identified three key elements to the IQOS campaign that could be “applicable to other distrusted companies planning to launch a significant, transformative, new product or business”:[2]

“Developing a robust argument”. Foster says that it is key to have “a position which is designed to convey or convince, with evidence in support”.

“Purpose (or values) behind the transformation”. According to Foster, this was the first time PMI was prepared to commit to a smoke-free future, which “made for a more captivating story”.

“Power of transparency”. Foster says that they pushed Philip Morris to be as open as possible, and “what better way to do this than giving The Today programme full access to the story and Philip Morris’ headquarters and research and development centre in Switzerland”.

Other Tobacco Client: British American Tobacco

Although BAT’s logo does not appear on Pagefield’s website, multiple entries of the PR firm on the PRCA lobbying register indicate that BAT was a client in 2017/18.[6][7] In addition, Pagefield consultant Jack Crone, who according to his public LinkedIn profile joined the company in 2019,[8] is listed on the Pagefield website as providing “media relations expertise across a range of clients including Starling, BAT and Zego”.[9]